Caught
by luckybooks126
Summary: Harry intentionally blows up a potion to earn himself some alone time with Severus, unbeknownst to his friends. Hermione, trying to be a good friend, attempts to lend Harry a hand when he forgets his bag behind and gets the surprise of her life.


**Disclaimer: I don't own anything here. I make no money off of any of this.**

**XXXX**

Harry sat on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, scowling. He knew it was a fake scowl of course, but he was impressed at how adept he'd become at making it seem realistic over time. He crossed his arms over his chest, grumbling nonsense to himself to keep up the act.

"Harry, you really need to learn to pay attention more in class," Hermione mothered him, glancing at him from over the top of the book that was obscuring two-thirds of her face. "Maybe then you wouldn't get into so much trouble." Harry had to try really hard to keep the scowl in place during her speech. Little did Hermione know that Harry had _intentionally_ and _knowingly_ put the extra powdered mandrake root into his potion. He knew it would blow up. That's exactly what he'd wanted.

XXXX

_Harry had been sitting at his cauldron in potions class that morning. He and Sev hadn't been able to sneak in any alone time recently, and it was driving him insane. After a few minutes, he managed to focus his attention back on his potion, but he could see that it was already too late. The potion was ruined. Harry sighed, knowing Sev would be disappointed in him. But then he had another idea._

_He scanned the list of ingredients on the board quickly. His eyes settled on powdered mandrake root. _That'll work_, Harry thought to himself. He grabbed at his bit of mandrake root and ground it down, powdering way more than necessary, and then dumped it into the cauldron. It started bubbling almost immediately.  
_

_It didn't take very long before the explosion happened. There was a loud bang, and then the thick paste of the ruined potion spewed everywhere. "Potter!" Snape roared, storming over to the boy. "Twenty points from Gryffindor! And detention with me! Tonight, seven o'clock!"_

_Harry forced himself to groan with all the rest of the Gryffindors, but secretly he was elated._

XXXX

"Well," Harry sighed, hauling himself up. "I guess I'd better be off. Don't want to be late and get another detention." _Or maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea_, he thought to himself.

"See you later, Harry," Hermione called after him. She continued on reading as he climbed out of the common room through the portrait.

XXXX

Harry barreled down the halls and into the dungeons. He hoped he looked like a student running late, as opposed to excited to see his lover in private. He was huffing and puffing by the time he reached Severus' classroom, only stopping to breathe once he'd burst in the door.

Severus raised an eyebrow, glaring at the younger man. "You're...early..." It was hard to surprise the Potions Master, but Harry had managed it tonight.

"Yeah," Harry wheezed, his chest rising and falling rapidly still. "I thought it would be better to not upset you any more than I already had." He shut the door before moving across the room to lean against Severus' desk. He was on Severus' side of the desk, standing next to the older wizard who was still seated.

"What happened today, Harry?" Severus asked, placing the paper he'd been grading down and folding his hands on his desk. It was clear to Harry that he'd disappointed his lover. "You know how to make that potion."

"I'm sorry," Harry couldn't hold Severus' gaze any longer, so he looked down at the floor. The man's face gave nothing away, his stoic mask still firmly in place, but Harry could see the hurt in his obsidian eyes. "I didn't mean to mess it up, Sev. It just happened. I stopped paying attention and then it was ruined. But the explosion...that part was on purpose."

Severus shifted a little in his chair, and the motion caused Harry to look up at him. The Potions Master was clearly intrigued by the revelation; he was leaning back in his chair now, steepled fingers in front of his face, the eyebrow raised higher than before. "Was it now?"

"Yeah," Harry grinned sheepishly. "I missed you."

"You see me every day."

"Git," Harry half grumbled, half laughed at him. "I've missed having time alone with you. I thought...since the potion was already ruined and all...well I knew that you'd give me detention, and I thought it'd be a good hour alone together."

The corner of Severus' mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. To anyone else, the motion wouldn't have even been noticed, but to Harry, that was the equivalent of the older wizard's face breaking out into a huge grin. "Are you sure you belong in Gryffindor, brat?" Severus' mused aloud.

"Definitely," Harry's grin had grown into a giant smile. "So what now..._Professor_?" Harry emphasized the word, hoping to entice his lover. "What would you have me do for my...detention?"

"I could think of a few things."

XXXX

Hermione rubbed at her eyes. It had only been a little while since Harry had left, but she was feeling tired. She shut the book she'd been reading, placing it in her lap, and glanced around the empty common room. She wasn't sure where the rest of the Gryffindors were, but she was relishing the silence and serenity. However, her eyes locked onto something laying at the foot of the couch: Harry's bag. "Oh dear," she placed the book on the side table next to her chair and moved towards the bag. When she picked it up, the weight told her it was obviously still full. "He might need this in detention," she mused to herself out loud, thinking of all the possible punishments Snape could come up with. Writing lines. Scrubbing cauldrons. Copying text.

She made up her mind that she would venture down to the dungeons and poke her head into the potions classroom. Surely Snape wouldn't notice the small intrusion, and if Harry needed the bag, she could come up with some way to get it to him without being too obtrusive.

She slung the bag over her head and pushed her bushy brown hair back before she headed out of the common room.

It took her a while, she wasn't really in a rush, but she eventually found herself outside the potions classroom. She pressed her ear to the door, straining to listen, but all way silent on the inside. Gently, she cracked open the door and peered in. However, she couldn't contain her gasp.

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Harry was propped up on the desk, Severus standing between his legs, being thoroughly snogged by the professor when he heard the squeak of a gasp. Severus obviously heard it too, as he wrenched his mouth away from Harry's, his gaze going over Harry's head. He felt Severus' hand tighten on his waist as the older wizard cleared his throat before speaking, "Hello, Ms. Granger."

"Hermione?!" Harry squeaked, rotating around quickly. He spotted the bushy haired girl standing in the doorway, gaping.

"I...I..." she stammered, one of the few times in her life she'd been speechless. "I'm so sorry! Sorry, sorry..." she babbled as she fled from the room.

Severus sighed and pulled Harry off the desk. Harry was looking at him questioningly, the distress clearly written across his feature. "Go talk to her," Severus sighed in defeat. He'd been hoping they could keep the relationship secret a bit longer, if only to have Harry all to himself. "She's one of your best friends. She cares for you. She'll understand."

Harry nodded mutely before pulling the Potions Master back down into a chaste kiss. "I love you," he mumbled into the kiss before breaking it and dashing off after the girl.

Severus growled, annoyed to be left unsatisfied and frustrated, and flopped himself back down in his chair and tried to resume grading papers.

XXXX

"Hermione!" Harry shouted after her, finally catching up just outside the common room. They were both gasping for air, and stood side by side, catching their breath for a few moments before Harry spoke again, "I'm sorry."

"Harry..." she started, looking for the right words. "I mean...I just...I don't understand," she finished lamely.

"I know. I'm sorry." Tears welled up and threatened to spill, making Harry's emerald eyes shimmer. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but Sev and I...we weren't ready..."

"Harry," Hermione reached over and tugged the boy into a hug. "I'm upset because you didn't tell me, not by who you're dating." Harry pulled back from the hug a bit, eyes searching her face. "I mean, I'm confused by it of course...what with the two of you always fighting. Anyway, I just wish you'd told me so...that...in the dungeons didn't happen. Oh, I'm so embarrassed!" she shrieked, moving her hands from Harry's shoulders to cover her face.

"You mean...you're not...mad at me?"

"Harry Potter, when you sat me and Ron down and told us you were gay, was I upset with you then?" Harry shook his head. "Have I ever judged you for being gay?" He shook his head no again. "Then why on earth would you think I wouldn't be accepting of the fact that you'd found someone, and that someone just happened to be Snape?"

"I don't know," Harry's shoulders sagged in relief. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, 'Mione." The witch laughed lightly and pulled him into another tight hug before moving towards the portrait that led into the common room. "'Mione?" Harry asked as she told the Fat Lady the password.

"Hmm?"

"Can we not tell Ron? At least...not yet. I don't think he's ready for a shock like that."

Hermione burst out laughing. "Of...course," she managed to get out in between laughs. She managed to regain her composure a bit before continuing, "Your secret's safe with me. You can tell him whenever you're ready."

"Thanks. You're the best," Harry told her as they climbed through the opening behind the portrait.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Second attempt at Snarry! :) Hope it was enjoyable! Please let me know what you thought!**


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